Gregg Williams apologizes again for his role in Saints’ bounty program

Posted by Mike Florio on March 21, 2012, 4:59 PM EST

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When the NFL initially announced that it had concluded that the Saints used a system of bounties from 2009 through 2011, former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams (now with the Rams) issued an apology. Now that he has been suspended indefinitely (and at least for a year), he has apologized again.

“I’d like to again apologize wholeheartedly to the NFL, Coach Fisher, the entire Rams organization and all football fans for my actions,” Williams said in a release issued by the Rams. “Furthermore, I apologize to the players of the NFL for my involvement as it is not a true reflection of my values as a father or coach, nor is it reflective of the great respect I have for this game and its core principle of sportsmanship. I accept full responsibility for my actions. I highly value the 23 years that I’ve spent in the NFL. I will continue to cooperate fully with the league and its investigation and I will focus my energies on serving as an advocate for both player safety and sportsmanship. I will do everything possible to re-earn the respect of my colleagues, the NFL and its players in hopes of returning to coaching in the future.” (At least he didn’t try to call it a “mistake” this time.)

Rams coach Jeff Fisher said earlier on Wednesday that the team was not aware of the bounty situation in New Orleans when Williams was hired in January. If that’s the case, it’s odd that the Rams haven’t fired him.

Perhaps the Rams eventually will. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Fisher said Wednesday, pointing out that Williams never would have been hired if the team had known about the looming suspension.

If the inconvenience of an upcoming suspension would have been enough to scare the Rams away from hiring Williams, a full and complete appreciation of what he did to merit the suspension should be more than enough to prompt the Rams to fire him.

Well, they don’t have to pay him while he is suspended and he can’t sign elsewhere or discuss signing elsewhere. Why needlessly give up that control or leverage? When have you ever seen an NFL owner/team give up control so quickly?

You should have given this speech weeks ago before you received your penalty instead of that “beat around the bush, no apology, owner saving” speech. Come clean before you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar with a full stomach and an empty glass of milk

WHAT? Where is the apology to the Saints etc? Peyton may have let it happen, but this is how you pay him back for giving up part of his salary to get you? (I know Peyton got refunded in the end). You say nothing to the Saints, or Tom Benson who you cost TWO draft picks? This guy isn’t a man.

I thought he denied the whole thing from the start? He’s only sorry he got caught. He could care less what happens. He keeps his ring and glory from the SB.. Rings trophy and banner should be taken away

Quixote says:Mar 21, 2012 5:18 PM

Jason, I root for the NY Giants, Gregg Williams ought to never work in the NFL again.

I’ll say it again. I Love the bounty system (except for causing injury). Anything to make these overpaid titty babies play harder is fine with me. You think the millions they are paid would be enough. That is why I really liked the XFL where the winners of the game get paid more then the losers.
That would make the NFL so much better. No “taking plays off” when $ is 0n the line.

Jason1980, I’m not whining but I know an empty apology when I hear one. And did you not see pictures of Favre’s ankle after the NFC championship game?

Quixote says:Mar 21, 2012 5:23 PM

jxegh, or “I have kinky videos of your feet on the internet but I’m not a perv”

olcap says:Mar 21, 2012 5:23 PM

I’ve lost some respect for Fisher now, as well. WTF kind of statement is “We wouldn’t have hired him if we knew of the looming suspension”, so I guess that means if you knew of his bounty programs, and you also knew that he wouldn’t get suspended, you still would have hired him? Sorry Jeff, you’ve lost a fan.

Sam Von Schamm–you MUST be a Saints fan. I am no Pats fan, but how can you compare what the Pats did to what the Saints did? For three years, they compromised player safety. For what? A few hundred dollars at the end of the week and swinging the competitve nature of games in their favor. The NFL has identified the QBs who had bounties on them as Favre, Warner, Rodgers, and last year, Cam Newton, a rookie. That’s ridiculous. Yeah, the Pats lost 1 first round pick, and Belicheck lost 500K and the organization lost another 250K. But Payton enabled a system that not only threatened the health of opposing players, but also their very careers.

Yeah, apologize first to the team you almost worked for and their fans, not the players you had intentionally injured.

I can think of a more hollow fake apology that I’ve ever heard.

Hope they never allow you back in the league you piece of filth.

chawk12thman says:Mar 21, 2012 5:45 PM

Is it only the “looming suspension” that gives Fisher pause about Williams? What about the bounty program itself?

khuxford: He is suspend indefinitly, so there is no control to be given up by firing Williams. He can’t work for, contract with or consult for any other team. Even if he could, no team would want him, right now.

Firing him for his actions and not the “looming suspension” should have been the call in St. Louis. Right is right.

I was really looking forward to the 9ers playing his sorry a$$ defense twice a year…

Sam Von Schamm says:Mar 21, 2012 5:53 PM

Eaglebobby:

I’m not a Saints fan, having grown up in Pitttsburgh. You’re upset that the Saints “compromised player safety” for “A few hundred dollars”.

Yes they did. My point is that Goodell chooses when to pretend to be outraged and when to ignore the exact same violations of the rules.

Consider: After a Steelers-Ravens game in ’08, Terrell Suggs was asked by a radio host: “Did y’all put a bounty out on that young man?” (The “young man” was R. Mendenhall, whose collarbone was broken by Ray Lewis).

Suggs replied: “Definitely. The bounty was out on him, and the bounty was out on Hines Ward. We just didn’t get him between the whistles.”

NFL exec VP Ray Anderson’s responsed by saying: “That ‘bounty’ notion is completely against the rules. To the extent that someone is engaged in that activity, we will look into it and address it.”

Goodell “addressed” it by ignoring it. NOW however, bouties are evil. Why did ignore what the Ravens ADMITTED doing?

As to your comment about the joke of a punishment the Patriots had to deal with after Spygate, if you assume he gets paid after each game, Belichick made that money back after game two or three. As if he cared.

They were also stripped of the LOWER of their two first round picks. Oh, the pain of it all.

jjbadd says:Mar 21, 2012 5:53 PM

I hate the Saints..but this is far too excessive, and just wrong. Yall stop whining for Favre, he’s my hero and he didnt cry about it..

dpants5 says:Mar 21, 2012 5:56 PM

No matter what this guy does, he’s gonna have a black cloud floating over his head for the rest of his career… which, after today might be over. At least at the NFL level. Wouldn’t be surprising to see the Rams fire him and any team afterwards that takes a gamble on him just isn’t gonna wanna deal with the scrutiny of hiring him and having him on their staff.

What a scumbag. It is only fitting that he was a member of the Stains when they ‘won’ their big game. Now, that trophy has to have an asterisk engraved upon it.
*********************************************************

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meaning something that was aquired through cheating.

Williams is unrepentant. He has been warned and continued to lie and disobey league officials. I don’t care how many times he says he’s sorry. He’s just sorry he’s being punished. I think he should have been started with at least a 5 year ban if not lifetime. How many time does the league need to tell you something??

slippyal2 says:Mar 21, 2012 6:19 PM

I think it’s interesting that he never mentions the Saints or anyone from that organization.

Lol at the hair comment first of all.
He should be ban for life I don’t mind big hits, but doing it on a pre plan way to injured somebody, that’s just lowest of the low, and idk who is writing his apologies cause they suck big time.

granadafan says:Mar 21, 2012 6:35 PM

Sounds like Williams is a perfect candidate for some SEC team. They will pay off players any way they can.

Since Goodell took away the Saints next two 2nd round draft picks, because the Rams lost Williams, the Rams should get both of those picks plus another 3rd round compensatory pick. It’s only fair. The Rams lost a lot and Williams did not even get to set up his bounty system in St Loo much less win a Super Bowl yet. Jeeze! We got robbed!

What Gregg Williams is sorry about, is that he got caught. He wasn’t sorry winning Lombardi hardware and illegitimately destroying the dreams of a number of other playoff hopefuls.

And with an indefinite suspension in place, he floats out an apology like this simply to feign contrition – and hopefully (for him), mitigates matters for himself so he can be on NFL sidelines that much sooner.

The common bond in all of Williams’ conduct: they’re all to benefit Williams. Even his protracted web of lies was to cover his backside.

Not a real stand up guy when you think about what he’s about.

mulehead70 says:Mar 21, 2012 9:44 PM

Here’s some ideas for jobs that Williams can do during his suspension (whether it’s 1 year or lifetime):

– He can always take the Happy Gilmore approach and endorse Subway. The script would go something like this:

Williams (to player) – “Son, are you hungry? Would you like a Subway foot long?”

Player – “Yeah, coach, I love Subway!!”

Williams – “Well, go out there and break that quarterback’s leg, and I’ll get you a foot long!”